Intralign, a specialty healthcare services provider, today announced it will partner with one of the world’s most respected orthopedic care providers, Hospital for Special Surgery, to develop a first-of-its-kind training curriculum for Surgical First Assistants (SFAs) – a clinical specialty comprised of surgeons, medical doctors, physician’s assistants and registered nurse first assists, that is in high demand to help provide better patient care. The educational program, operating as Intralign Academy, will teach the latest technologies and methodologies in orthopedic care, as well as best practices for increasing operational efficiency in the surgical suite.
Leaders from Hospital for Special Surgery will provide insight and support to enhance Intralign’s existing Academy programs. Intralign Academy is the nation’s first professional academy to train SFAs in both operational and clinical excellence with an emphasis on credentialing, clinical training, operating room management and continuing education.
“Surgical first assistants help surgeons focus on the highest-value care activities, which can ultimately increase surgical throughput. Despite their pivotal role in the OR, there are few continuing education opportunities for SFAs today in which the curriculum goes beyond clinical techniques to also train on best operational practices to address the changing realities of healthcare,” said Rick Ferreira, president and CEO of Intralign. “By leveraging real-world insights from the most sought-after experts in orthopedic care, we can enrich Intralign’s educational offering and provide the strongest possible competencies for SFAs in orthopedic and total joint replacement training. These skills will further enhance Intralign SFAs’ ability to deliver high-quality, consistent and professional assistance that allows a surgeon to do more with fewer resources.”
Intralign’s Intra-Operative Support service makes highly trained SFAs available to the hospital to function as a “surgeon extender,” a specially trained healthcare worker who performs tasks that might otherwise be performed by a surgeon. The advanced support SFAs provide help optimize the surgeon’s efficiency throughout the case, which reduces procedure time and enhances patient throughput.
“We believe that in order to provide the best possible orthopedic care for every patient, knowledge of evolving techniques and methodologies should be shared,” said Louis Shapiro, president and CEO, Hospital for Special Surgery. “Through our partnership with Intralign, we can help develop a training program that will be the gold standard for surgical first assistant education for years to come.”
As part of the current program, Intralign Academy offers clinical training in a variety of surgical specialties in addition to orthopedics, including surgical robotics. Professionals enrolled in Intralign Academy are educated on OR behavior, communication and optimal methods for creating OR efficiencies, in addition to clinical best practices, which equip them with the broadest perspectives to assist any surgeon in any environment.
